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A letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) caused the University of Arkansas at Ft. Smith (UAFS) early this month to reverse policy and allow a 38-year old anatomically male-student permant use of women's bathrooms on campus despite opposition from female students.The university made the reversal on "advice of counsel" after receiving a letter the DOJ sent in response to a complaint that a single, self proclaimed "transgender" student filed with the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "Because of the stance we took, the individual filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Justice," Mark Horn...

Steve Kornacki tries to do the math on Obama's unpopularity throughout Appalachia: ........................................................... I think that "Chalking this up only to race" is a strawman, and its one that I often see writers invoke when talking about white resentment and Obama. ......................................................... It is wrong to believe Barack Obama shouldn't be president because he's black. That you have other reasons along with those--even ones that rank higher--doesn't make it excusable. Likely those other reasons are themselves tied to Obama being black.

That President Obama lost roughly 40 percent of the vote in Democratic primaries in Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia over the last two weeks has drawn massive national headlines. Those headlines have drawn a collective eyeroll from Democrats — and many others who closely follow national politics — who ascribe the underperformance by the incumbent to a very simple thing: racism. No, none of these Democrats are willing to put their name to that allegation — either generally or for this story. But, it is, without question the prevalent viewpoint they hold privately.

Imagine that in one 2004 Republican primary, an opponent running to George Bush's left got 40% of the vote, and in another primary, more than 4-in-10 Republicans voted for "uncommitted" rather than support the incumbent president. Now imagine the doom the MSM would have found that to portend for Bush. But when a candidate running to the right of Barack Obama garners 40% of the vote in the Arkansas Dem primary, and "uncommitted" amasses an astounding 42% in Kentucky . . . crickets. On Morning Joe today, Politico's Patrick Gavin proclaimed that PBO's embarrassing performance "doesn't matter." View the video...

President Obama headed toward wins in both primaries Tuesday in Arkansas and Kentucky, but suffered losses of about 40 percent of the vote in each contest against token opposition. Over four in 10 Democratic voters in Kentucky's primary on Tuesday chose the "uncommitted" option versus President Barack Obama, who won the state's primary. And perennial candidate John Wolfe, Jr. took just about 40 percent of the primary vote versus Obama in Arkansas, according to early returns tabulated by the Associated Press. (Wolfe won't be awarded any delegates, either.) Advertise | AdChoices The president's performance in both contests carries no substantive...

Barack Obama had no national primary challengers in his second nomination race in most states, including Kentucky. Who knew it would still be a tough choice for voters? Kentucky voters in the Democratic primary preferred the empty slot to the empty suit, apparently: About two out of every five Democratic voters in Tuesday's presidential primary in Kentucky chose "uncommitted" instead of voting for President Barack Obama. "I'm at a victory celebration for 'uncommitted' who performed admirably" said [state GOP chair Steve] Robertson. "I've never met the guy but know that he highly embarrassed Obama."Robertson contended that the Democrats who vote...

All but 2 counties reporting, as of 2:39 am Central Time:

Army veteran and management consultant Tom Cotton has won the Republican nomination for a south Arkansas congressional seat. Cotton defeated Beth Anne Rankin and John Cowart in Tuesday's primary for the 4th Congressional District. The 35-year-old from Dardanelle raised more than $1 million in his bid for the seat and had racked up endorsements from leading national Republicans and conservative groups. Rankin is a former Miss Arkansas who worked as an aide in former Gov. Mike Huckabee's administration. She was the party's 4th District nominee in 2010. The district is Arkansas' only U.S. House seat occupied by a Democrat. Congressman...

What Arkansas voters had to say after casting ballots in Tuesday's primary election: Bobby Smith, a 73-year-old retired aircraft mechanic, cast an early ballot for President Barack Obama even though he said he disagreed with the president's stand on gay marriage. "They don't have but two names on the ballot: President Obama and that other guy," Smith said outside a community center in downtown Little Rock where other people were voting on Tuesday. "I don't know anything about the other guy," he said, referring to John Wolfe. ___ Sarah Edmondson, 57, of Lonoke said she voted for Wolfe for president,...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Authorities say one person was found dead in a home and a possible suspect was killed by a Little Rock police officer after a burglary report. Little Rock police say two people were found shot in a home on Thayer Street at about noon on Tuesday. Officers driving to the house saw a man with a handgun and tried to make contact with him. Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis says an officer shot the man at least once, killing him. One of the people in the home was dead and the other was...

Two weeks after an imprisoned felon received 41 percent of the vote against President Obama in West Virginia’s presidential primary, Arkansas could provide another potential embarrassment for the incumbent. That’s because only Obama and John Wolfe, a Tennessee lawyer, are on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in the Razorback State. (Wolfe took 12 percent — and nearly 18,000 votes — in a four-way fight in the Louisiana Democratic presidential primary in late March.) And a recent independent poll showed Obama running just seven points ahead of Wolfe in the southern Arkansas 4th district, which covers one-quarter of the state. All...

The primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Geoff Davis in a heavily Republican district is both a sequel and a tiebreaker for recent GOP contests in the state. The tea party and Kentucky's Republican establishment have squared off in two high-profile contests in the past two years, and each has won one: Rand Paul took the 2010 GOP Senate nomination for the tea party, and establishment figure David Williams won the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2011. Now, the tea party has the inside track to break the deadlock. Thomas Massie, a county executive supported by Paul, has an organizational and...

CARROLLTON, Ark. — On the wildflower-studded slopes of the Ozarks, where memories run long and family ties run thick, a little-known and long-ago chapter of history still simmers. On Sept. 11, 1857, a wagon train from this part of Arkansas met with a gruesome fate in Utah, where most of the travelers were slaughtered by a Mormon militia in an episode known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hundreds of the victims’ descendants still populate these hills and commemorate the killings, which they have come to call “the first 9/11.” Many of the locals grew up hearing denunciations of Mormonism from...

If this report is true, if indeed Arkansas state Democrats are threatening to ignore any delegates President Obama's primary challenger, John Wolfe, might win this Tuesday, this is an obvious attempt to not only disenfranchise his voters but to also suppress the turnout of his voters, who are now being informed their vote might not count. Michael Warren at The Weekly Standard: After a poll released this week showed President Barack Obama only beating his Democratic primary opponent John Wolfe Jr. by seven points, 45 percent to 38 percent, in Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, state Democrats moved to practically disenfranchise...

The president's weakness has created an opening for John Wolfe, a Tennessee lawyer and sometime congressional candidate, who took just 246 votes — or 0.4 percent of the total — in this year's New Hampshire primary. Despite limited funds and in-state campaigning and robocalling, Wolfe appears poised to cut deeply into Obama's primary vote margin in Arkansas on Tuesday. One poll showed Obama up by only 7 percentage points in the state's conservative 4th congressional district. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Arkansas is the last Southern state remaining where Democrats have held onto their traditional majorities in the Legislature. But Republicans are now within...

Webb’s bill claims food grease presents an emergency risk of sewer overflows that threatens the environment. “It is in the public interest to establish a Fat, Oil, and Grease Advisory Committee to study the recommended measures to better ensure that the collection, transportation, disposal, and recycling of fat, oil, and grease are done in a manner that is protective of the environment,” reads the bill.

Via Jorge Bonilla in the Greenroom, who sounds the call for “Operation Razorback Chaos.” Two words, my friends: Open primary. It’s magic time. In West Virginia, federal inmate Keith Judd recently swiped 42 percent of Democratic votes from the president, indicating the level of dissatisfaction among the rank and file. And according to a Talk Business–Hendrix College poll conducted on May 10, Obama leads John Wolfe, a virtually unknown candidate, in Arkansas’s 4th congressional district by only 7 points, 45–38. Three weeks earlier, the Talk Business–Hendrix College poll showed the president leading by 65–24 in the slightly less conservative 1st...

After President Obama's humiliating showing against a West Virginia prison inmate earlier this month, a more serious humiliation could be in making after the May 22 Arkansas primary. According to a new poll of Arkansas Democrats taken by Talk Business-Hendrix College, Obama is only seven points ahead (45-38) of his challenger, a relatively unknown attorney by the name of John Wolfe. According to our friends at The Weekly Standard, Wolfe hasn't done a single radio or television ad. In West Virginia, a prisoner garnered nearly 42% of the vote against this sitting president. In North Carolina, "no preference" took 20%...

In West Virginia, federal inmate Keith Judd recently swiped 42 percent of Democratic votes from the president, indicating the level of dissatisfaction among the rank and file. And according to a Talk Business–Hendrix College poll conducted on May 10, Obama leads John Wolfe, a virtually unknown candidate, in Arkansas’s 4th congressional district by only 7 points, 45–38. Three weeks earlier, the Talk Business–Hendrix College poll showed the president leading by 65–24 in the slightly less conservative 1st district, but that was before Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage. Wolfe, an attorney from Tennessee, tells NRO the new poll numbers...

A new poll of Arkansas Democrats shows Barack Obama receiving support from only 45 percent of Democratic primary voters in Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District, while 38 percent support his underfunded and relatively unknown primary challenger, Tennessee lawyer John Wolfe, Jr. Seventeen percent are undecided in the district poll. In an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Wolfe said the poll results were “unbelievable” and said a defeat for Obama in the Arkansas primary would be “politically cataclysmic.” “It says the momentum is good,” Wolfe said about the poll. “This is democracy in action." Wolfe predicted that the voters would move his...

MEMPHIS, TN - (WMC-TV) - A new map created by civil rights activists tracks the whereabouts of hundreds of, what they call, hate groups. Many of them are shown to be right here in the Mid-South. According to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups claim the election of President Barack Obama added muscle to their movements. A map from the SPLC supports their claim. The number of hate and right wing extremist groups has increased 750 percent since 2008. Among the more than 1,000 groups identified on the SPLC's hate map, 106...

The conventional wisdom about Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential short list, according to a handful of Romney insiders, may be wrong. Instead of picking a straitlaced Midwestern senator such as Ohio’s Rob Portman, or an outspoken northeastern Republican governor such as Chris Christie, there is a chance Romney will tap an evangelical from the South. And the name on the lips of Romney friends and supporters isn’t a rising southern senator or a current Dixie governor. He has been out of office for five years, resides on a beach in the Florida panhandle, and hosts a television show. In other words, Mike...

An inmate who escaped from custody three days ago is on a crime spree in Pocahontas, Ark., where police say he stole an officer's gun, threatened the cop's wife and shot his dog. James Lundry, 39, who was being held on felony charges of improperly using food stamps, escaped from a work detail with other inmates during a lunch break of Friday, stealing a vehicle and heading to Pocahontas, according to Police Chief Cecil Tackett. Since Friday, police and civilians have had multiple run-ins with Lundry, who has previously been arrested multiple times in Pocahontas on misdemeanor charges. Lundry is...

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The man who police say ran over and killed a teenager who stole his wallet has been charged with 1st degree murder. The man who was driving the van is 58-year-old Michael Sadler. Little Rock Police say Sadler was cashing a check at the Asher 1 stop near the intersection of Asher and Maple. That’s when, according to police, 14-year-old Michael Stanley stole Sadler’s wallet. Stanley fled on his bicycle and was chased by Sadler. The chase ended near the intersection of 17th and Oak, about 10 blocks away. According to the arrest report, Sadler drove...

CONWAY – A teenager is being called a hero by the family he protected from armed intruders early Monday morning.Brady, 14, is a trained trap shooter who used his own shotgun to intimidate two black males who he says broke into his family's house just after midnight Monday morning."They both had silver revolvers pointed at me, and we just kind of pointed at each other for like three seconds and then I yelled, ‘Hey!'" said Brady, "And they and they took off running."Nothing has been reported stolen from their house.The full names of Brady's family are being concealed for safety...

El Chico workers held in killing 2 robbed LR eatery, 2 helped plan, police say; co-worker shot LITTLE ROCK — Four restaurant employees face capital murder charges after they were arrested Monday in connection with a robbery the night before of a west Little Rock El Chico in which another employee was shot and killed.Kiywuan Perry, 23, of Little Rock; his brother Zeckeya Perry, 19, of North Little Rock; Quantez Dobbins, 19, of Little Rock; [and his girlfriend] Kenya Smith, 19, of Little Rock also face charges of aggravated robbery and theft in the holdup of the restaurant on Breckenridge...

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said he will not actively campaign in Arkansas for President Barack Obama during the 2012 general election cycle. Pryor noted his unwillingness to support the Obama, the titular head of the Democratic Party, during the second edition of the The City Wire show, presented by 5News. “Not very active,” Pryor said when asked about his level of support for Obama. “As much as I may love all of our presidents, ... I just don’t really get involved in those races. My view is, Democrat, Republican, it doesn’t matter, my view is I’m in Washington to...

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A couple sheriff’s deputies say claimed to be of Moorish nationality and exempt from state and federal laws is behind bars facing numerous charges. A Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputy stopped 34 year old Marco McCormick of Little Rock, on Arch Street near Kerry Road after noticing what appeared to be a make-shift car tag on his vehicle. The Deputy says he asked McCormick for his driver license but the suspect said he was a traveling Moorish American National and did not have to have one. The Pulaski deputy called for backup and shortly after it arrived...

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Fort Smith police have a teen in custody in connection with his mother's stabbing Wednesday morning. Officers responded to a 911 call at an apartment on Meandering Way where a woman had been stabbed. Police said they found a 55-year-old Natividad Saluten Parker sitting on the porch with stab wounds to her face and neck. She was taken to St. Edward Mercy Medical Center and is in critical but stable condition, police said. --snip-- "She didn't like that I was gay," the suspect told Ellison when she asked why he stabbed his mother.

President Barack Obama’s campaign manager Jim Messina will be in North Little Rock (3/27) to speak at the grand opening of Obama’s Arkansas campaign headquarters. Where: 201 W. Broadway, downtown North Little Rock When: Tuesday, March 26th at 5:00 p.m. (Protest begins at 4:00 p.m.) We need your help to protest this event! Join us in front of the headquarters with a homemade sign at 4:00 p.m. and let Mr. Messina know that President Obama’s failed policies have cost Arkansas jobs and hurt our state and nation! From Obamacare to his failed Stimulus, Arkansas cannot afford another four years of...

At a party last month, students in the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, unveiled a new state and federal PAC. Called Naturally Blue, its aim is to maintain the majority of Democrats in the Arkansas legislature. In a state where Democrats suffered heavy losses in 2010, the new PAC was well received, with the party reeling in about 300 guests, including [disgraced] ex-governor Jim Guy Tucker, and about $13,000. The founders believe that the economics of the South — namely its concentrated poverty — make the region “naturally blue.” Nate Looney, the PAC’s 25-year-old president,...

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched a propaganda campaign attacking a state legislative initiative that is designed to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, including Muslims. That initiative is known as American Laws for American Courts (ALAC).

At Little Rock National Airport, it's two for the price of one. No, we're not talking about airfares, but Clintons. The Arkansas capital's Municipal Airport Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to rename the airport in honor of the former president and the current secretary of State, a rare twin billing for the state's former first couple. The change won't be official until the Federal Aviation Administration signs off. Adams Field, the designation for the airport's aeronautical operations, will remain the same. "Bill and Hillary Clinton not only devoted years of service to Arkansas, but have served the nation as a two-term...

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The shooting death of a constable at a Pine Bluff gas station in January was determined to be justified by the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney. In his findings released Thursday, Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter said that Edward Blundell and Constable Tommy Holcomb engaged in a verbal altercation outside of their cars at a Speedway convenience store. Hunter says Blundell made Holcomb aware that he had a gun, and got back into his car and closed the door. That is when Holcomb went up to the car with a gun in his hand. While at the...

The Little Rock Airport Commission has scheduled a discussion at its meeting Tuesday to rename the airport the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. The idea has kicked around for years, with varying amounts of cheering and jeering. Hillary Clinton served for a time as legal counsel to the airport. I'm guessing the votes are in hand now to honor Arkansas's native son president and his wife, the secretary of state. It's better than a guess. Our FOI request early today produced 1) renderings of various proposed sign treatments including the one above; 2) the resolution the commission has up...

Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission members will be discussing and voting on a possible name change at Tuesday's meeting. The proposal suggests that the Little Rock National Airport be renamed the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in honor of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to the drafted resolution, the name change will celebrate the Clinton Family because they have "dedicated their lives to the service of not only the City of Little Rock, but also to the State of Arkansas, the United States and the world as a whole."

Fayetteville Police are investigating after they say a homeowner shot a burglar. It happened this afternoon at 4153 Old Missouri Road in north Fayetteville. The suspect's condition is not yet known, and police have not yet released his name. Fayetteville Police Sergeant Craig Stout says the suspect was breaking into the home with a knife. Stout says the homeowner defended himself and shot the man several times in the stomach. Sgt. Stout says the suspect's cousin drove him to Willow Creek Women's Hospital in Fayetteville and he was then transferred to Washington Regional Medical Center. At last report, police were...

During the Faulkner County Tea Party Republican Committee Meeting, a veteran talks about how the US is having to apologize for Korans that were burnt after muslim terrorist in prisons had written and defaced them. At least 4 Americans have been killed over the Korans being burned. Most of the destruction of Korans and Mosque have been done by Al Queda and 3rd world dictators such as Saddam Hussein, while the US has built roads, schools, and a platform for modernization in Muslim Countries such as Afghanistan. Faulkner county Republican Committee Apology for Korans Issue.wmv

WALDRON, ARK. — A 6th grader springs into action after he finds two strangers inside his neighbor’s house in Waldron Tuesday night. Jerry Hopper, 12, says he went to a friend’s house to play on E. 6th Street, but when he got there he found strangers inside the home. The boy saw what was happening and decided to act. “I walked in the house and there was a guy and this woman about to go out the door and I grabbed a gun beside the door,” the boy said. Hopper said he hit the suspect between the legs with the...

Join us for a rally and lunch on Thursday, March 1 at 12:30 on the steps of the State Capitol, as we let Arkansans know what’s really at stake here: jobs, future business development, and continued economic growth in our communities. Join a broad coalition of stakeholders, from Arkansas mayors and county leaders, to independent producers, employees, and royalty owners, who have all seen the positive impact the natural gas industry has had on their communities and on our entire state. We need you there, too. Let’s show the state that WE are the face of the natural gas community...

LITTLE ROCK, AR (AP) - The campaign for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has filed paperwork to appear on Arkansas' ballot for the Republican presidential primary. Saline County Circuit Clerk and former state Republican Party Chairman Dennis Milligan filed the paperwork Thursday for Gingrich to appear on the May 22 primary ballot. GOP presidential hopefuls must pay a $25,000 filing fee

The Sebastian County Quorum Court will not act on complaints from county resident Jamie Mitchell regarding the discharge of firearms in an unincorporated area of the county. Mitchell brought the complaint before court members in late 2011, stating that neighbor Charles Parker was “discharging .50 caliber weapons within 75 feet of his home.” Responding to a question from court members regarding whether he’d approached Parker about the problem, Mitchell claimed that he had, and that Parker’s response was, “There’s no law against it.” [snip] “This is not a Second Amendment issue. I’m simply stating this is a safety issue. Don’t...

Propulsion,” the nine-year-old says as he leads his dad through the gates of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “I just want to see the propulsion stuff.” A young woman guides their group toward a full-scale replica of the massive Saturn V rocket that brought America to the moon. As they duck under the exhaust nozzles, Kenneth Wilson glances at his awestruck boy and feels his burden beginning to lighten. For a few minutes, at least, someone else will feed his son’s boundless appetite for knowledge. Then Taylor raises his hand, not with a question but an...

Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee is in Israel once again. Arutz Sheva met him on Monday. His visit comes a little over a year after his last visit to the Jewish State, during which he said that if he were president of the United States he would move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Huckabee considered running for the Republican party’s presidential ticket, but ultimately decided not to run.

FORT SMITH, Ark. — A plan by Air Force officials would remove the A-10 aircraft mission from the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith next year and possibly replace it with one involving remotely piloted aircraft. The proposal released by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on Friday would give the 188th Fighter Wing an MQ-1/9 Remote Split Operations Squadron that would be made up of unmanned aerial vehicles commonly referred to as drones. The MQ-1 and MQ-9 wouldn't be assigned to the base, only a ground control operation station from which the unmanned aircraft are operated. [snip]...

[snip] Air Force Secretary Michael Donley met Tuesday with Michigan Reps. Candice Miller and Tim Walberg, who concerned about losing the A-10 mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. “Secretary Donley indicated that the Obama Administration is not open to making any alterations to their proposed cuts and all of the cuts outlined last week will be included in the budget the President plans to send to Congress next week,” the two Republicans said in a joint statement. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, left a Thursday meeting with Donley still frustrated with the Pentagon’s plans for the Iowa National Guard’s 132nd...

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

Twenty-One Republican Candidates Take Steps Toward ‘Young Gun' Status Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) today announced its newest round of ‘On the Radar' candidates. By reaching the second step of the four-step ‘Young Guns' program, these Republican candidates have reached the fundamental benchmarks to place them on the road to victory. Now, these 21 candidates are ready to take on the Democrat establishment and return fiscal sanity to Washington. "These candidates have worked hard to meet the benchmarks that have been laid out before them and are determined to hold Washington Democrats accountable this November," said NRCC Chairman...

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman is charged with extortion in an alleged plot to get Discovery Communications Inc. to cancel the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting" or pay her $10,000 in exchange for not revealing compromising photos of a cast member, according to federal court documents. Teresa Hunt, of Bettendorf, is accused of threatening to release photos of a cast member in "apparently intimate situations" to a magazine. Hunt was arrested Feb. 1 after she apparently sent television executives typed and handwritten letters demanding the show be canceled, along with a business card for "Perfect Pictures." The...

The first time he was asked about a proposed increase in the severance tax on natural gas, Gov. Mike Beebe was lukewarm in his support. Last October, he said he probably would vote for it, but not campaign for it. His temperature on the idea is cooling — with good reason. The governor sees potential new natural gas exploration in southern Arkansas on the horizon and doesn't want to scare away investments that just as easily could go to other states. Arkansas' best interest is always on Beebe's mind. That has made him an even better governor than most people...